Welcome to the Overnight News Digest with a crew consisting of founder Magnifico, regular editors side pocket, maggiejean, Chitown Kev, eeff, Magnifico, annetteboardman, Besame and jck. Alumni editors include (but not limited to) Interceptor 7, Man Oh Man, wader, Neon Vincent, palantir, Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse (RIP), ek hornbeck (RIP), rfall, ScottyUrb, Doctor RJ, BentLiberal, Oke (RIP) and jlms qkw.
OND is a regular community feature on Daily Kos, consisting of news stories from around the world, sometimes coupled with a daily theme, original research or commentary. Editors of OND impart their own presentation styles and content choices, typically publishing each day near 12:00 AM Eastern Time.
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Chicago Sun-Times: Facing firing, Chicago’s controversial police union boss formally retires from CPD by Tom Schuba
John Catanzara, the controversial president of Chicago’s largest police union, formally retired from the city’s police force Tuesday morning, effectively ending a lengthy disciplinary case that could have resulted in his firing.
During a hearing Tuesday morning, Catanzara’s attorney, Tim Grace, said his client had formally resigned hours earlier.
The move came a day after Catanzara announced his intention to call it quits during the first hearing in his disciplinary case. He was accused of a string of departmental rule violations, including making a series of obscene and inflammatory social media posts and generating false reports against superior officers, most notably former Supt. Eddie Johnson.
Lauren Freeman, the hearing officer overseeing the case, suspended the proceedings after Catanzara’s curveball and announced they would resume Tuesday morning.
Jim Lydon, an attorney for the Chicago Police Department, acknowledged he had received the resignation paperwork Tuesday and moved to withdraw the list of charges without prejudice, meaning they could potentially be brought again. Catanzara wasn’t present for the hearing, which was held via teleconference.
CNN: A 'potentially significant' storm could hit the East Coast with rain and snow during the busy Thanksgiving travel week by Judson Jones
A significant
storm has the potential to disrupt travel plans from the Midwest to the Northeast during one of the busiest times of the year to travel. We are talking about disruptions at major airline hubs like Chicago and New York at the beginning of next week.
The storm system could begin to develop Sunday in the Midwest, strengthening daily. By the time it gets near the East Coast on Tuesday, a secondary system could develop along the coast, exacerbating the disrupting weather conditions in places like New York.
Mother Jones: The UN Climate Summit Is Over—and Nobody’s Happy by Mark Hertsgaard
COP26 president Alok Sharma held back tears as he accepted India’s last-minute motion to weaken the summit’s pledge to “phase out” coal. Sharma had been saying for months that he wanted COP26 to “consign coal to history.” And until India insisted otherwise at the 11th hour, it looked like the summit might achieve that scientifically imperative task.
But United Nations climate negotiations operate by consensus: Each of the 197 participating nations can veto the majority. In effect, India—with China’s support—had threatened to block the agreement entirely if the text was not softened from a “phase out” to a “phase down” coal.
Moments after Sharma gaveled the Glasgow Climate summit to a close on Saturday, this reporter asked if he had tried to talk India out of its explosive last second demand to weaken the summit’s pledge. Did Sharma, as the summit’s presiding officer, try to dissuade India from this hostage-taking?
A plainly weary Sharma declined to divulge his conversations with the delegations, but said, “Anyone watching the footage can make up their own minds about how I felt.”
Washington Post: States circumvent federal guidelines to offer booster shots to all adults by Katie Shepherd
While federal officials continue to limit who can receive a coronavirus booster shot, a growing number of governors from both political parties and other officials are circumventing that guidance to offer boosters to anyone over 18 in hopes of staving off a spike in cases over the holidays.
California made the first move to expand access when public health officials quietly sent a letter to local health jurisdictions and vaccine providers on Nov. 9 instructing them to trust patients to decide whether a booster is appropriate.
“Do not turn a patient away who is requesting a booster” if the person is 18 or older and has waited the required period after their first vaccine series, the letter said.
Within days, officials in Colorado, New Mexico, Arkansas, West Virginia and New York City endorsed boosters for all adults — and more states and jurisdictions are expected to follow.
BBC News: Poland border crisis: Migrants tear-gassed trying to cross from Belarus
Polish forces have used tear gas and water cannon against migrants trying to cross into the country from Belarus.
Videos showed migrants throwing stones and other objects at the Polish forces guarding a fortified border crossing.
For weeks, thousands of migrants, mostly from the Middle East, have been gathering at the Belarus border in an attempt to reach the European Union.
Belarus has been accused of pushing migrants to the border to try to destabilise the EU, a charge it denies.
EU-Belarus relations have been severely strained since long-term leader Alexander Lukashenko declared victory in a discredited presidential election last year and tried to silence dissent by cracking down on mass protests and arresting political opponents.
The EU imposed sanctions on Belarus in the wake of the poll and, along with the US, will step them up following the border crisis.
There have been more than 5,000 attempts by migrants to cross the border into Poland from Belarus so far this month, compared to just 88 in the whole of last year, the Polish border agency says.
DW: Ethiopia: UN warns of 'disturbing' mass arrests of Tigrayans
At least 1,000 people have been detained in Ethiopia over the past week, the United Nations said on Tuesday.
Most of those detained are reported to be of Tigrayan origin, the High Commissioner for Human Rights said in a statement.
This development is "disturbing," the commissioner noted.
The surge in arrests has occurred since the government introduced a state of emergency on November 2 amid fears that the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) fighters would march on the capital.
The declaration is valid for six months. It allows suspects to be detained without trial for as long as the state of emergency lasts and allows house-to-house searches without a warrant.
Some reports have put the number of detainees as "much higher," the UN statement noted.
CBC News: Devastation continues to mount in rain- and flood-stricken southwestern B.C.
One person is confirmed dead and the toll of damage and destruction continues to escalate as the torrential rain that fell across southwestern British Columbia over the weekend and into Monday subsided on Tuesday.
It was an "atmospheric river" event that brought heavy downpours and triggered flooding and landslides, leading to the evacuation of the entire city of Merritt, as well as further evacuations in the Fraser Valley, the Interior and Vancouver Island.
A woman's body was recovered at the site of a mudslide that swept across Highway 99 near Lillooet on Monday. Police said there could be more fatalities as search and rescue efforts continue.
Evacuation orders were issued in Abbotsford and Chilliwack early Tuesday, with residents told to leave the Sumas Prairie and Yarrow neighbourhoods immediately as floodwaters continued to rise. Schools in the Fraser Valley municipalities of Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Hope and Mission were closed Tuesday.
A significant portion of the province is currently under either flood watch or flood warning.
Everyone have a great evening!